


Arthur's Jealousy

by psychoticmidds



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Gwaine is under Morgana's control the entire time, Jealousy, M/M, Magic, Oblivious Merlin, Originally Posted on FanFiction.Net, POV Merlin, Rewrite, Sorry Not Sorry, Whipping
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-01
Updated: 2016-12-01
Packaged: 2018-09-03 12:54:10
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,891
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8714725
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/psychoticmidds/pseuds/psychoticmidds
Summary: Gwaine is well known for being a flirt, but when he starts flirting with Merlin and spending too much time with him, Arthur becomes jealous.





	1. Arthur is a jealous little prat

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own Merlin, nor the characters of the show.
> 
> I like to modify the series as much as the next person.
> 
> This is set after Uther has died and Arthur has taken the throne, it is also after he has banished Gwen.  
> Oh, and by the way, Arthur knows about Merlin using Magic.

Closing Arthur's door behind him, the dark-haired young man lets out a sigh of exhaustion, glad that Arthur finally dismissed him for the evening. Walking the corridors of the castle of Camelot, Merlin opens the door that leads out to Gaius's home, running into Gwaine who is coming in the castle, by the looks of the long dark-haired man, he is already drunk.

"Hey, Merlin!" The knight greets slurring his words, plastering a large drunken smile on his face. "Princess finally dismissed you did he?" Merlin nods his head with a smile. It was only when he is drunk that he refers to Arthur as Princess.

"Well, now that you are free for the evening, perhaps we could have some fun?"

"I'd love to - but.." Merlin begins, before being interrupted.

"It's always a but with you!" Gwaine exclaims, "What is it now?" He sounds aggravated.

"I have to go help Gaius." Merlin states simply, starting to slide past Gwaine, when he grabs Merlin by the arm, stopping him.

"Between Arthur and Gaius, the two of them are working you to death." Gwaine points out, Merlin knew it, but Gaius took him in, and is the closest he has to a father, and Arthur - well Arthur is his King and it was his duty to be there for Arthur. "Come on, have some fun Merlin. You can help Gaius after you've had a bit of fun." Gwaine pulls Merlin into him, he smells like alcohol and Merlin caught a glimpse of wanting in his eyes. Merlin pulls his arm away gently, placing a hand on Gwaine's chest, pushing himself back a few steps.

"We can meet later, after I am done helping Gaius." Gwaine's face falls disappointed, but he backs down, to Merlin's relief, nodding his head agreeing to meet with Merlin once he is finished with his duties.

"Come to my chambers when you are done then." Merlin watches Gwaine as he stumbles into the castle, before taking off to Gaius's home, walking through the door.

"You're late." Gaius greets him, without even looking up from the book in front of him.

"Sorry.." Merlin apologizes, starting to cleaning up the place, and put things away. Noticing his bowl of food sitting on the table, his stomach groans in pain, he ignores it, doing his chores for Gaius before he sits down to eat at last. Washing his bowl, once he is finished,  instead of heading to his room, like he wants, Merlin heads for the door.

"Where are you going?"

"Gwaine wants me to come and see him." Merlin answers, Gaius gave him a questioning look, which he ignores and heads out the door, going back to the castle. Merlin yawns widely as he enters the castle once more, going to Gwain's room. Rapping his knuckles on the wood, waiting a few minutes before he opens the door himself, looking around the room, Merlin finds Gwaine sleeping face down on his bed, still fully clothed. Shaking his head, Merlin closes the door, going back the way he came - back to Gaius's, falling asleep in his own bed when he returns.

* * *

 

"Merlin!" Arthur's voice wakes Merlin from his sleep the next morning, he groans inwardly getting out of bed, and gets dressed quickly, before stepping out of his room. "I have been calling you all morning. Were you sleeping this whole time?"Merlin shrugs his shoulders with a sheepish smile, Arthur doesn’t look as amused, with his arms crossed in front of his chest still in his night-clothes. "Move your ass Merlin, we have a lot to do."

"Yes, sire" Merlin remarks, hurrying across the room, following Arthur out the door. Merlin  leaves Arthur for a moment, to stop in at the kitchen to fetch the king's breakfast, before going to his room.

"Where were you last night Merlin?" Gwaine asks, appearing behind him, following him through the halls of the castle.

"I told you, I was doing my chores for Gaius. When I came to your room, you passed out already." Merlin explains, looking over his shoulder, only for a moment to look at the knight, then focuses on the hall before him. Gwaine steps in front of him, forcing Merlin to stop in his tracks. "Arthur is waiting for me."

"You can go, when you agree to have some fun. After you are finished with your duties today." Gwaine states with a smile, Merlin looks at him annoyed, then nods his head. Gwaine steps out of Merlin's way, allowing him to pass, watching him as he continues to Arthur's room, opening the door without a knock. Merlin sets the tray of food down on the table in Arthur's room, the blond king staring at Merlin since he entered the room, obviously angry.

"What took you so long?"

"Gwaine wanted a word." Merlin explains, as he walks over to the closet, taking out Arthur's clothes and places them out, letting him eat before he dresses, missing the look of jealousy that comes over Arthur's face, which he hides by the time Merlin turns to him.

"Gwain is not your king, I am." Looking at him incredulously, Merlin takes  a moment to even think of a come back.

"I already know that, I am not stupid." The sorcerer remarks bluntly, Arthur snorts and begins to eat his food. After he is finished with the meal, Merlin helps him get dressed and fitted into his armor for training with the rest of the knights.

"Take the plate back to the kitchen, then join me outside." Arthur leaves the room before Merlin can reply, leaving him in the mess of the room that he has to clean up. Heaving a sigh, Merlin uses his magic to clean the room, saving him time, and picks up the plate off the table, taking it to the kitchens before heading outside.

Approaching the training knights, Merlin can’t help but notice Arthur and Gwaine are paired off, their swords clashing together, both skilled with their weapons. Merlin stands off to the side, watching them duel, noticing Arthur's strikes are becoming harsher, as if he is really trying to harm Gwaine.

"Arthur!" The Sorcerer exclaims, hoping that he can get the king to realize what he is doing, but he doesn’t seem to hear Merlin. Arthur trips up Gwaine, unarming him, placing his blade to Gwaine's throat. "Arthur!" Merlin calls out again, the king stands there, the tip of his sword against Gwaine's neck before pulling it away and placing it in his sheath. Arthur extends his hand to help Gwaine to his feet. Snapping out of whatever had taken a hold of him.

Without a word, Arthur walks away from his knights, heading toward the castle. Glancing at Gwaine, Merlin chases after Arthur, catching up to him in the halls of the castle. "What was that?" He demands, slowing his pace so that he is walking beside the king.

"You have no right questioning me Merlin, so I am going to pretend I didn't hear that." Arthur snaps back, without so much as looking at the Sorcerer. Usually Merlin would argue back, but there is something in Arthur's tone, that keeps Merlin from telling Arthur he is being a prat. When they return to Arthur's room, Merlin helps him out of the armor. "Be sure to polish it."

"Yes, sire." Merlin responds, carrying Arthur’s armor out of the room. Gwaine storms down the hall, giving Merlin a wink as he passes, immediately knocking on Arthur's door. A little curious to know what is going on, Merlin is tempted to stay and listen in on the conversation. Merlin makes it look like he’s leaving, waiting only long enough for Gwaine to be allowed to enter Arthur's chambers. Doubling back, Merlin walks back to the door, pressing his ear against it straining to hear what was happening inside.

The door is too thick for Merlin to hear through, and trying to crack the door would draw the attention of the two men inside. Sighing with momentary defeat, the sorcerer walks away from the king's chambers going to the armory. It’s hard getting use to the fact that he can use magic now. Times - like this - Merlin catches himself scrubbing the armor with his hands again. Merlin smiles at himself and uses his magic to finish off the rest, taking the clean, polished armor back to Arthur's room. Merlin doesn’t bother knocking, he simply opens the door - walking inside, Gwaine is gone and Arthur is sitting at his desk writing something down.

"Did you forget how to knock, Merlin?"

"My hands are full." The sorcerer rebounds, placing the clean armor down, putting it away piece by piece. Arthur looks up from the paper, giving him a look that Merlin can’t quite read.

"It usually takes you longer to polish my armor." Arthur points out, changing the subject. "Did you use magic?" Merlin stares him, not ashamed as he nods his head. "I could consider that using your powers for useless needs, and make you do it again - by hand."

"You could, but then you would be a complete prat." Merlin snaps, unable to hold his tongue any longer. "Seriously Arthur, what climbed up your arse and died?" After losing Gwen, Arthur's attitude has gotten worse, and he’s acting so strange lately. The king shakes his head, dismissing it, waving his hand.

"Go fetch my dinner." Merlin mutters under his breath about spitting in it, as he turns from Arthur and leaves the room going to the kitchen to fetch Arthur’s dinner and bring it to him. When Merlin returns to Arthur's room, he places his plate down on the table.

 

"Is that all?" Arthur looks up at Merlin, thinking it over, before he answers.

"Why don't you go muck out the stables? This time without using your magic. After that I suppose I will be ready to go to sleep, so you will come back here when you are finished and help me get ready for bed." Arthur orders, receiving an astonished look from the sorcerer. "I also think it's best if you stay away from Gwaine for a while."

"And why is that?" Merlin snaps.

"I don't have to tell you why Merlin, just do it." Arthur snaps back, leaning forward.

"Now -go - muck - the - stables." The sorcerer stares at the king hard for a minute and shakes his head flustered.

"Yes, sire" Merlin breaths out, turning on his heel, and storms out of the room heading for the stables.


	2. Breaking point

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the old readers from fanfiction, this is where I begin changing some things.

By the time Merlin finishes mucking out the stables, he’s exhausted, aching, filthy, and to top it all off, he smells like shit. It would be considerate to clean up before going to Arthur, however considering the way he has been acting as of late, Merlin decides against it and goes to the king's chambers, to help him get ready for bed. The moment Merlin enters the room, Arthur's nose wrinkles distasteful at the smell emitting from Merlin.

"Christ Merlin, you could have at least cleaned up." The sorcerer fights to keep himself from smirking at the comment, however he does give the king a snarky remark.

"I could have, but I was only following your orders." Arthur doesn’t seem amused by the remark.

"Don't get any filth on me."

"I wouldn't dare." Merlin responds, carefully helping Arthur into his night-clothes. Enjoying every minute of seeing the disgusted look on Arthur's face, because he has to smell Merlin. "Will that be all?" He asks once Arthur is dressed, pulling the blankets back on his bed. The king waves his hand at Merlin, dismissing him from the room. Without hesitation Merlin is out the door, making his way out of the castle, and to Guais' to clean himself up.

* * *

 

Later, as Merlin is getting ready for bed he hears a knock on the door. Guais is already asleep. The sorcerer hurries out of his room and to the door, hoping to answer it, before the knocking would wake the old man from his sleep.

"Gwaine!" Merlin greets, surprised to see him. Merlin slides out the door, closing the door behind him so their voices wouldn't wake the old man.

"Are you ready to go to the tavern?" For a moment, Merlin hesitates, thinking of turning him down, but decides against it. Merlin smiles at Gwaine and nods his head, the knight takes Merlin by the hand, guiding him from Guais' to the tavern.

"What did you talk to Arthur about?" Merlin asks, and Gwaine answers him with a shrug of his shoulder. Avoiding answering the question. Had Athur also told Gwaine to stay away from Merlin?

"Can't you go one minute without thinking about Arthur?" Gwaine teases, opening the door of the tavern; Merlin huffs heading into the tavern ahead of Gwaine, without answering him.

Merlin and Gwaine stumble out of the tavern together; laughing and carrying on. Gwaine once again had gone and got himself in a fight and got the two of them kicked out. "I believe we have caused enough chaos for one night." Merlin points out with a chuckle, "I am going to turn in for the night." The sorcerer begins to turn away, Gwaine catches his wrist turning Merlin around, pulling him in, pressing their lips together. For a moment Merlin is too shocked to react to the kiss, but soon gives in and moves his lips along with Gwaine’s. Completely unaware that from the castle, Arthur is watching them from the window.

* * *

 

When Merlin wakes the next morning, his head throbs dully, as his eyes focus and he realizes he’s not in his bed, but in the castle, sharing a bed with Gwaine. The sorcerer doesn’t remember how they had ended up there, the last thing he remembered is the kiss. 

Arthur wasn't shouting for him yet. Merlin takes advantage of the moment to gather him self together, then nudges at Gwaine. The knight stirs with a groan, his eyes fluttering open slowly, focusing on Merlin and he smiles. "Morning Merlin, fancy seeing you here."

"Morning - do you know how exactly we ended up here?" Gwaine's brow furrows as he tries to remember, and after a moment he shakes his head. Then, with a shrug of his shoulder, Gwaine turns over, pinning Merlin under him, leaning down to capture his lips. Before Merlin can stop Gwaine, the door flies open and the castle guards come barging in, followed by Arthur.

"Sire-" Merlin begins, pushing Gwaine off of him.

"Lock Gwaine up in the dungeon." Arthur orders, "I will deal with Merlin." The sorcerer swallows, doing nothing to stop the guards, or his king. Gwaine is dragged out of the room by the guards, leaving Arthur and Merlin alone.

"Arthur-" Merlin begins once more, hoping to reason with the angry king. Arthur has no intention of listening to him however. The king storms over to Merlin grabbing him by the arm, tearing him out of Gwaine's bed, dragging the sorcerer to his own chambers.

"How could you?!" Arthur shouts at Merlin once they were in the room, the door closing behind them. The sorcerer looks at the king confused, "You make a vow to me, and go sleeping around with my knights?!"

"Why do you care? I didn't vow to be with you." Merlin points out, snapping at the king.

"You are mine. Only mine. " Arthur growls darkly, scaring Merlin. The sorcerer tries to speak, but Arthur cuts him off, pressing their lips together. Merlin shoves Arthur back in shock, breaking the kiss, not returning it.  "You always talk about how we belong together, two sides of one coin." Arthur's voice drops, he doesn’t sound angry, he sounds hurt, and avoids eye contact with Merlin. "Instead of falling for me, you fell for Gwaine."

"You've never showed any interest in me until now! You were about to marry Gwen!" Merlin objects, Arthur looks at him once more.

"I never loved her, Merlin. I only used Gwen, it's one thing to fall in love with a servant girl, but to fall in love with another man?" The king shakes his head. "After Gwen betrayed me, it became harder for me to ignore my feelings. When I noticed Gwaine coming on you...I - I couldn’t handle it."

“So your solution is to lock up Gwaine?” Merlin asks incredulously. “What happened between Gwaine and I, it was a mistake, we were drunk.”

“You don't love him?” Arthur asks, hope returning to his tone.

“No, not like that. Gwaine is my friend -  _ our  _ friend.” Merlin replies.

“Do you love me?” the king asks. Merlin crosses his arms with a huff, narrowing his eyes at Arthur.

“Not when you're like this.” A small smile tugs at Arthur’s lips.

“But you do?”

“Of course I do.” Merlin says with a sigh. “Please, Arthur, release Gwaine. I can assure you what happened last night, will never happen again.” The sorcerer tells the king, uncrossing his arms, taking Arthur’s hands into his own.

Arthur searches Merlin eyes, as if determining whether or not the sorcerer is lying to him. “Alright, for you.” Arthur says after a pause, “Go fetch me my breakfast, and I'll take care of it.”

“Thank you.” Merlin says great fully and kisses Arthur on the cheek before he leaves Arthur's chambers, and heads to the kitchen for the king’s breakfast.

 


End file.
